Power sharing in local bodies to be strictly according to pact, says DCC

All the written agreements pertaining to power sharing in the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat, block panchayats, and grama panchayats between the I and A factions of the Congress will be strictly adhered to, president of the District Congress Committee K. Mohan Kumar has said.

When his comments were sought on the uncertainty surrounding the pact, particularly with respect to the District Panchayat, he said the party had given necessary instruction to Panchayat President Remani P. Nair to submit her resignation to the Secretary of the civic body. Similarly, the chairpersons and chairmen of various standing committees were directed to tender their resignation so as to invoke re-shuffling of posts, he said, adding disciplinary action would be initiated against persons not toeing the party line. As per the agreement, the I group representative was to head the local body in the first two years and the latter part by a representative of the A group. “The parliamentary party will meet in three days to decide on the new president, chairpersons and chairmen. This applies to the District Panchayat, Parasalla and Pothencode panchayats,” he said. Inquiries with the Secretary’s Office revealed that only Ansajitha Ressel, who held the post of Chairperson of Standing Committee for Health and Education, had submitted the resignation till Thursday evening. Ms Ressel, who belongs to the A faction, is considered by many to be the frontrunner for the president’s post.

Meanwhile, Ms. Remani P. Nair organised a thanksgiving function to express gratitude to representatives of various divisions and officials at the District Panchayat Office on Thursday. The absence of a few Congress representatives from the function led to speculations of internal strife on how to go about with the pact and also about a decision on the vice president’s post, which is held by Socialist Janata (Democratic) representative Rufus Daniel. In the 26-member District Panchayat, Congress with 12 members came to power with the crucial support of 2 SJ (D) members.

“Mr Rufus has refused to step down and this has antagonised a few who nurtured hope of getting the post,” said the Congress member.

Mr Rufus maintained that there was no such understanding and any decision on the nature of alliance between the two parties could be decided only by the leadership of the United Democratic Front.